


The Dress

by insominia



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel Does What Castiel Wants (Supernatural), Enemies to Lovers, Established Saileen, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Misha's pink dress, Misunderstandings, Multi, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 08:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insominia/pseuds/insominia
Summary: Castiel missed his own prom and his bff Eileen wants him to have the full experience. It's not the end of the world, her boyfriend can bring his brother. Castiel and Dean don't like each other much, but Castiel also doesn't really care what anyone thinks of him, especially when it comes wearing pretty things.Inspired by a prompt and that dress. Yeah, you know the one.





	The Dress

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheAngelInDeansButt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAngelInDeansButt/gifts).

> So while admiring how amazing Misha looked in his pink dress, you know the one I mean and you know he totally rocked it, TheAngelInDeansButt said...
> 
> Okay, but Sam's girlfriend Eileen taking Cas to prom because her bestie has no one to go with and she wants him to have the experience and Dean who has been admiring Cas from afar for years finally gathering the courage to compliment Cas on his dress and stealing him from Eileen's and stealing Cas' heart. 
> 
> And then this happened...

_ Coffee after work? Usual place. Eileen isn't going to prom with me _ .

There were several things Dean had expected upon receiving the text from his brother. The most obvious being that he needed to get his best big brother face on because Sam would be devastated. He'd been planning his promposal for months, saving his money for ages so he could hire a singing quartet to sign Eileen's favourite song to her before he dropped to one knee presenting her with a corsage neutral enough to go with anything, classic enough to look stunning when it did.

So Sam was going to be upset. Of course, it would be a little awkward for his girlfriend to turn him down for prom so no doubt Sam was going to be inconsolable that Eileen had decided to end things now and like this. She was the love of Sam's life and Dean was a little confused as to what had gone wrong. But he could put that aside for now, Sam needed him.

What he had not expected was the way in which Sam practically leapt to his feet when Dean entered the coffee shop and with almost a hint of panic breathed, "Dean, thank God, will you go to prom with me?"

It took Dean a few minutes to assimilate what Sam had said and when he'd done so he just about managed to stammer, "Wait... Wait, what?" But then he caught up with himself and nudging his brother back into his seat said, "What the hell? No Sammy, I'm not going to prom with you."

It was at  _ that _ , that Sam's face fell which caught Dean a little off guard. He ordered a coffee which was about the only normal thing happening right now.

"Dammit," Sam sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face, somehow managing to do so without disturbing a single hair on his head. "I was really hoping you would, I mean it's not like there's anyone else I wanna ask and I'm not about to take someone who isn't my girlfriend-"

"What?" Dean needed more than the caffeine set down before him to handle whatever was going on with Sam right now. "I thought Eileen dumped you?"

"Dumped me? Why the hell would you think that?"

"Your promposal, she said no..."

"Oh..." Sam thought for a moment and clearly realised he'd misled his brother, however unintentionally. "Oh, right no... Eileen isn't going to prom with me, she's asked Cas, she forgot she hadn't told me is all. We're still good."

"Eileen asked... Cas?" Dean asked, not bothering to hide his surprise. He took a sip of the scalding hot coffee, "I swear to God Sam if you don't start making sense real soon-"

"Okay, okay," Sam held his hands up defensively, "From the top, okay?" He gestured for their coffees to be refilled even though they'd only been there a few minutes. "So, turns out Cas never went to his own prom. He didn't have anyone to go with, didn't want to go on his own, everyone thought he was weird anyway, you know, exactly what you'd expect from a school of jerks. He mentioned to Eileen at the time that he really wanted to go and have the full prom experience, so Eileen promised that when her prom came she'd ask him to be her date." Sam winced, "She just forgot about it until I asked her... On the quad... With the choir..." He flushed beet red and buried his face in his hands, "But anyway, she's asked Cas, Cas said yes and I was hoping you'd come with me as my guest, y'know? It'd be weird if I went with someone else and I thought it might be easier on Cas if there was someone else there in his corner..."

Dean breathed out, long and hard, his head swimming with relief. Not least because his brother wasn't a sobbing wreck and Eileen still loved him and everything was ok. He practically downed the second cup of coffee and steadied himself, as much as one could at least given the sheer amount of caffeine in his system.

"Should have opened with that, man. Sure I'll go with you."

Sam looked up at him as though Dean had just pulled several puppies from a burning building, "Seriously?!" He beamed.

"Sure," Dean shrugged as though it weren't an issue. Which, it really wasn't, not if Cas was going to be there, but he wasn't about to say that out loud.

* * *

Castiel thumbed his way across a rack of suits, his brow furrowed. Castiel took his clothes very seriously.

Too tight. Too Italian. Unflattering cut. A shade too dark.

The hanger in his hand clattered as he put it back with a great deal more frustration than intended. From seemingly nowhere, Eileen appeared beside him not needing to sign or speak what was on her mind, her look said it all.

"Nothing," Castiel confirmed.

Eileen gave a shrug and rolled her eyes, "Same."

With a sigh Castiel steered them towards the door, "There's a dress shop on the corner, Balthazar swears by it, come on."

They paused at the door to let a handful of Eileen's classmates pass them. One of them did a double-take and the group descended into excited whispers watching Eileen as she left. Castiel was surprised and double-checked but no, he was still wearing the monochrome striped dress, even if he had paired it with jeans and a leather jacket. But, they hadn't given him a second glance, too caught up in whatever Eileen had apparently done.

"What was that about?" Castiel signed as they stepped into the street.

Eileen gave an amused grin and replied, "Probably still talking about the promposal."

"My promposal?" Castiel frowned, how would they even know about that? Eileen had shown up at his place with a box of donuts in hand. The front of the box read, "Prom?" and when he opened it, "I donut want to go with anyone else."

But Eileen was shaking her head, "My promposal. When Sam asked me."

Castiel stopped them as they walked, "Wait, Sam  asked you to prom? Then how can you take me?"

"I told him no, duh."

"Told him no?! He's your boyfriend. No, you're going with Sam, I can survive without prom. You're-"

"Relax Sam's still going. It's fine, he's bringing Dean as his guest."

"Oh," Castiel sighed because really was that much better? Dean Winchester who was pleasant enough to Castiel but always a little guarded around him. Like he'd put a wall between them and _only_ them. Dean was effortlessly charming with everyone so it really stood out when he was merely deliberately polite with Castiel. Or at least, that's what Castiel thought. But hey, Dean wouldn't be the first person to think Castiel weird and kept him at arm's length. Granted, he was best looking of them.

Still, it didn't matter. he thought as he steered them into the dress shop, Eileen immediately drawn to a rack of black dresses near the door. Castiel was going with Eileen and there would be other people present. It's not like Castiel would be on his own with the guy, something Dean had made it pointedly clear was not an option. Apparently, he couldn't stand Castiel to the point that he wouldn't allow them more than a moment without another person present. Not allowing himself the chance to even get to know Castiel, having obviously decided he wasn't worth knowing.

With a frustrated sigh, Castiel turned to see what else the boutique had to offer when his breath caught and he saw it.

It was a vision of pink with silver embellishments. It might be described as a confection with tulle for the cap sleeves, tulle for the skirt and tulle gathered in bunches around it so if, no, when Castiel twirled in it it would swirl gloriously around him. It was heavy enough that Castiel could _hear_ the sound of it swishing about him as though it were happening right now. He reached out to touch it, tentatively, as though afraid it was not real. But it felt real in his hands and he knew he had to have it.

“You ok?” Eileen tapped his arm to catch his attention. She glanced over his shoulder to the dress he was looking at and wrinkled her nose, “I’m not wearing that.”

“I am,” Castiel said, hesitating slightly as soon as he’d said it. Eileen wouldn’t want him making a scene like that and this dress was _designed_ to make a scene. He’d stand out even more so than normal, but Eileen just beamed at him and took it off the rack to hold it up against him. He turned slightly so he could see himself in the mirror and once again his breath caught. 

He was having this dress.

* * *

“Dean, come on!” Sam shouted, hammering against the bathroom door, “Seriously, how has it taken you this long to get ready?!” He stalked off, muttering under his breath that they’d miss the limo at this rate even though it was coming to their door.

Inside the bathroom, Dean ignored his brother and checked for the hundredth time that he looked alright. He did. Of course, he did. Dean Winchester looked good in anything but Dean Winchester in a tuxedo was practically a war crime. He straightened his tie, again, ruffled the gel in his hair, again and finally, _finally_ wiped his hands telling himself to stop. He was fine, he looked fine and he definitely wasn’t making the extra effort for Castiel. That would be ridiculous after all. He saw Castiel all the time and didn’t make an effort so he definitely wasn’t pulling out all the stops in the vain hope that it might actually impress the guy he’d been crushing on since Sam got halfway through the sentence, “_...and this is Cas_.”

It hadn’t helped Dean’s crush when Castiel turned out to be an amazing person as well as drop-dead gorgeous. The guy was so kind. He cared about everything, especially his friends, but his compassion was endless. One time, they’d been walking through a park when they realised that Castiel had fallen behind. When they caught up to him they found him nursing a honey bee that had gotten dehydrated on the path, helping it a little before he put him safely on the nearby flower bed in the shade. He was in every sense an adorable dork, who used way too many emoticons when he sent a text and missed most references to popular culture. Castiel lived above the rest of them, carrying himself with zero consideration of what other people thought of him, something which seemed effortless but those who knew him knew it had come at a price heavily paid through high school. Castiel was the strongest person Dean knew, beautiful inside and out, way too good to ever be seen with someone like Dean, but...he could still make the effort for tonight.

“Dean?! The limo’s here!” Sam called.

Dean checked one last time, for real the last time this time, and hurried after his brother, pausing to at least tell him that he scrubbed up well before they jumped into the limo to pick up Eileen and Cas.

“Hey, Dean, you know Cas is wearing a dress tonight, right?” Sam asked, suddenly.

“Kay…? The guy wears dresses all the time, what about it?”

“Just…letting you know, alright? Apparently it’s really something.”

Dean frowned, part of him offended that his brother had felt the need to warn him, but with so short a drive to Eileen’s house there was hardly enough time to bring it up. 

When they pulled up, Dean figured it would be better to follow Sam to the door rather than wait awkwardly on his own in an empty limousine, something he regretted when Eileen opened the door and despite not going as Sam’s date threw herself into his arms anyway. Dean did tell her she looked amazing, but she was too busy kissing Sam to hear it so instead he hung back and called for Cas to get a move on if only to save him from the affection of teenagers. He trained his eye on some distant point, so he didn’t have to look at the two of them and he only turned around when the door clicked shut behind him.

“Timing, Cas, last thing I need is to be stuck with-” Dean broke off suddenly when he turned and saw Castiel stepping towards him. His throat was suddenly drier than it had ever been before and the part of his brain that formed words had been promptly shut down in the reboot forced by how amazing Cas looked. In hindsight, Sam hadn’t warned him enough. Dean had expected- well...Dean hadn’t known what to expect with Castiel but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t even in the same universe of possibilities as _this_.

He looked...he looked...Dean swallowed though the effort stuck in his throat. There weren’t words for how Cas looked and Dean wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done to his eyes but whatever it was it made them really pop to the point that Dean couldn’t look away, even as the dress clamoured for his attention. But he’d been awestruck a little too long without saying anything, even Sam had complimented Cas, but Dean was still slack-jawed and staring. Castiel’s lips and _oh God Dean don’t look at Castiel’s lips_, twitched downwards and he looked away quickly, stepping to put some distance between himself and Dean.

“Cas,” Dean breathed, reaching out to touch his arm though flinching when he did so as though the contact had burned him, “Castiel,” he tried again, “you look...you look great.” He cursed himself for his own lack of vocabulary, “Sorry, I mean...you look...” he paused for a moment, forcing his brain to work overtime, smiling when he settled on, “You look transcendent, Cas.”

* * *

Castiel shifted uncomfortably in the seat, even though the limo was perfectly plush. But Dean was looking at him, _again_. In fact, every time Castiel turned he saw that Dean was looking at him. It rankled. He knew that people would stare, but he also knew that he looked _damn good_ and didn’t care that they would, he just hadn’t expected to be dealing with it straight off the bat. Still, Dean had called him transcendent which had warmed him to his core, then he’d stumbled over himself to hold the door open for Cas to get into the limo. It had been nice while it lasted, but now it was starting to grate that it all been a front to hide his obvious distaste.

Whatever.

Eileen took his arm when they arrived with exaggerated flair and Dean faded into the background. As much as Dean Winchester ever could. Which was to say not much, especially wearing a tuxedo. The man was unfairly attractive, but then he'd gone and put a damned tuxedo on. It was downright rude is what it was. But Castiel was determined to ignore him and let Eileen guide him into the hall, where he promptly wondered why he had ever wanted a prom experience given that everything was so loud and there were people _everywhere_.

It didn’t seem to matter so much once Sam found them punch, punch that had definitely had more than one surreptitious shot added to it. By the time they hit the dance floor, how Dean was or was not looking at him was hardly a concern, though Castiel would have to admit that _damn_ Dean Winchester could dance. But then, it was hardly a surprise there was nothing he couldn’t do well.

“Ooh come on guys, we have to get photos!” Eileen ushered them towards the side room where the queue for photographs had gone right down leaving only a handful in front of them. They laughed together at the truly ridiculous poses some of the couples were pulling, but then Castiel noticed that Sam’s laugh had become forced and when he thought nobody was looking at all, he outright gave up on pretending to look happy. While Dean pointed something out to Eileen, Castiel sidled up to him.

“Hey, Sam, what’s wrong?”

Sam looked positively aghast that he’d been caught out, “Nothing!” He said so quickly Castiel was in no doubt that there was something bothering him. As if sensing that, he sighed and added, “Okay, nothing much. I was just...I’m just a bit bummed that I’m not gonna have a prom photo of Eileen and me, y’know? But, it’s okay! She wanted you guys to have the full experience and that’s fine, that’s great, it’s-”

“Sam,” Castiel sighed with infinite patience, “I don’t want to have the experience at the expense of yours. Have your photograph with Eileen,” he said it with such simplicity that he could see Sam almost feeling bad for having made a deal with it at all. But with a few discreet signs, Cas communicated to Eileen everything and she took Sam’s arm, excitedly discussing poses.

Castiel watched them for a moment before he realised he would have to leave the line, but before he could move, he felt a warm hand on the small of his back. “Hey,” Dean said, stepping into his space, “If you want, we could uh...I mean...you look great and you should probably get a photo so if you didn’t mind it with me, we could always,” he gestured vaguely in the direction of the photographer and it was a new side of Dean that Castiel had never seen. He was always so cool and collected, it was strange to see him nervous.

“Surely that should be if you didn’t mind it with me?”

Dean frowned at him, “Huh?”

Castiel sighed, but then, they’d been beating around this bush for years now, so it may as well come to an end now. “I know you don’t like me, Dean,” he said, drawing back a little so that Sam and Eileen wouldn’t overhear them. “So you don’t have to do,” he waved between them, “whatever this is, just because Eileen is your friend.”

He’d expected Dean to take the out he'd been given, he had not expected to Dean to look so wounded. “Wait...you think I don’t like you?” He asked, false bravado giving way to a slight tremor in his voice.

“I know you don’t, Dean.”

For a moment Dean couldn’t seem to find the words he wanted to say, his mouth opening and closing several times before he settled on, “Cas...I like you a lot.” He paused, dropping his gaze to the floor as a flush crept high into his cheeks, “_a lot_, lot,” he murmured.

“Oh obviously,” Castiel rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping from his lips, “you like me a lot, that’s why you never want to be on your own with me even if it’s just for a second. That’s why you stare at me all the time and then look away when I notice. That’s why you talk perfectly well with everybody else but when it’s just me you never know what to say and-” Castiel’s thought process came screeching to a halt as the implications of what he was saying hit him and he stopped speaking, abruptly. It was a good thing Sam and Eileen were stepping up to have their photographs taken because they would certainly have heard what was going on between the two of them when Castiel’s jaw practically hit the ground. “Oh,” he breathed. “_Oh_, Dean you...you _like_ me.”

Dean chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in a way that Castiel had always assumed was a nervous twitch because he didn’t want to be around him, but was now revealed to be so obviously something else. “Yeah...”

“But...you never said anything?”

Dean shrugged a little, “Well, you’re great y'know. You’re the best person I know Cas, you’re smart, you’re funny, you care, I mean you care so Goddamn much about everything. Let’s not even start on how hot you are and...well you’re not so much out of my league as playing a whole different sport.”

“Dean!” Castiel sighed, laying a hand on Dean’s shoulder, “I always thought you were the strongest person I could ever have known,” he admitted, pressing on when Dean rolled his eyes in disbelief. “No, I’m serious. I didn’t think you liked me but...I could still appreciate that you’ve always looked out for Sam and you work hard, harder than anyone else I’ve ever known. You’re smart too, Dean and you always make me laugh, even when I didn’t want to. I’ve been trying to not like you for a long time now, but you’re just so charming, it’s impossible to hate you.”

“You wanted to hate me?”

“Self-Defence, I thought you hated me,” Castiel said, with a shrug, but then drew Dean in a little closer, “I’m glad I was wrong though.”

“Guys!” Sam called, harshly, and they realised that the photographer had been calling them for a while.

Dean held his arm out and Castiel took it, holding his skirt with his other hand as Dean steered them onto the setup. They didn’t pose, not intentionally. At first, they’d stood beside each other, a little stiffly, smiling politely at the camera. Then Dean had caught Castiel’s eye and they both softened, still facing the camera but looking at each other, their heads leaning in a little, warm understanding passing between them. The final shot had them both turned into each other in half an embrace with Dean’s forehead pressed to Castiel’s, his eyes closed as though he couldn’t quite believe he was there. Castiel, on the other hand, was looking at Dean as though seeing him for the first time, a hundred misunderstandings falling into line in his mind’s eye.

After they were done, Dean’s hand slipped into Castiel’s like it was meant to be there and he pulled him back onto the dance floor. “Don’t worry, Eileen,” he winked, as she looked at them in pure confusion, “I’m gonna make sure Cas gets the full experience.” Eileen slapped his chest for that one, so did Castiel, so did Sam in fact, but it was worth it for the way Dean threw his head back and laughed, all the while pulling Cas onto the dance floor.

* * *

Dean was giddy and it wasn't just because of the punch. Cas was dancing with him. Cas was actually dancing with him, and not just because they happened to occupy the same area of the dance floor. They couldn't stop touching each other, at least one of them had to be holding onto the other in some way at any given moment, as though what they'd revealed was so fragile they both feared it could slip away if they didn't physically hold onto it. Dean kept staring, how could he not, but this time when Cas caught him, instead of looking away he grinned. Cas grinned back. 

Beside them, Sam and Eileen were exchanging confused looks but were hardly put out to be dancing with each other so it was clear they weren’t going to question it too hard. Not even when the slow dances started and instead of bowing out, Dean took a breath to steel himself and wrapped his arm around Cas’ waist, drawing him in closer, but slowly, giving him every chance to walk away. Cas didn’t. Instead, he stepped closer still, tracing his hands over Dean’s shoulders to hold him there as they swayed to a love song Dean would swear blind he had never heard before.

Cas’ hands were warm where they held him and the tulle of his dress rustled around the two of them in a way that made Dean feel like they were entirely alone in the universe. Maybe that’s why he leaned in when he did. Maybe that’s why Cas reciprocated. Maybe that’s why their lips met in the middle as though drawn together by an invisible thread that once tied had determined it would never break. It was brief, a gentle press of lips, but when they broke apart the whole world had changed, even as everything carried on as it had before. Dean caught Castiel’s eye and then they were laughing together. Cas’ arm looped around Dean’s neck and they stood flush against each other, Dean’s hand tracing the contours of Cas’ dress amazed that something so feminine could look so good on him.

“I can hear you thinking, Dean Winchester,” Cas said, leaning in to rasp against the shell of Dean’s ear, which as far as he was concerned was not playing fair by anyone’s standards. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have landed the most gorgeous person here. This dress...it really uh- it looks really good on you.”

“Hm.” Castiel cocked his head and then something wicked flashed behind his eyes, “but you know,” he said, with way too much innocence to be sincere, “I think it might look better on your bedroom floor.”

Instead of Dean choking on how cheesy a line he’d just been fed, he just flushed with the sudden heat that seared through him and ok, he could definitely get on board with this. But Cas wasn’t done. He kissed a trail along Dean’s jaw back to his ear so he could whisper, “and I think the same could be said for your tuxedo.”

He drew back and offered his arm to Dean. Dean threw a mock salute at Sam and Eileen, which Eileen returned. Sam, with all the foreknowledge of a younger brother, pretended to gag. He laughed and took Cas’ arm, leading him to the exit, holding him close. Dean was, if nothing else, a gentleman.

  
  
  
  



End file.
